A known image recording apparatus of a so-called tube-supply system has an ink cartridge that is positioned on the outside of a carriage on which a recording head is mounted, and the ink cartridge and the recording head are connected via a tube. The ink cartridge is configured to insert horizontally into an opening of a cartridge mounting portion positioned in the front of the image recording apparatus. The cartridge may be inserted into and removed from the cartridge mounting portion. When the ink cartridge is inserted into the cartridge mounting portion, an ink channel extending from the ink cartridge to the recording head is formed.
The cartridge mounting portion may include a hollow needle or the like, which is referred to as an “ink needle,” such that the ink stored in the ink cartridge is supplied to the recording head via the tube.
The mounting portion may include a locking mechanism configured to retain the ink cartridge in its mounted state and a biasing member configured to bias the ink cartridge toward the opening of the cartridge mounting portion.
In this manner, a reduction in size of the recording apparatus is constrained by an arrangement of the locking mechanism in the cartridge mounting portion.